Hiring Up for Class of 2016 Graduates, but Projections Trimmed From Last Fall

Employers expect to hire 5.2 percent more new graduates from the Class of 2016 than they hired from the Class of 2015, according to NACE’s Job Outlook 2016 Spring Update report.

While hiring activity for the college Class of 2016 is positive, the current hiring projections are down from the 11 percent increase employers originally reported through the Job Outlook 2016 survey, results of which were published in November 2015. (See Figure 1.)

Much of the change can be attributed to a larger portion of employers reporting plans to trim hiring. Just 13.2 percent of respondents originally reported plans to hire fewer 2016 graduates than they did 2015 graduates; currently, more than one-third say that is the case. (See Figure 2.)

Additionally, the average number of job postings for the 2015-16 recruiting year is down significantly compared to the 2014-15 year, while the average number of applications per posting remains fairly consistent between the years. (See Figure 3.)